State Bank of India Hires 3 Managers for $300 Million Bond Sale

State Bank of India, the country's biggest lender, hired Barclays Plc, Citigroup Inc. and Deutsche Bank AG to manage a $300 million bond sale to raise funds for lending to customers.

State Bank of India may price the five-year floating-rate notes to yield between 0.5 percentage points to 0.55 percentage points more than the three-month London interbank offered rate, said two bankers involved in the deal, who declined to be named because of confidentiality agreements. Three-month Libor, a benchmark for corporate borrowing, was 5.35 percent yesterday.

The company, which has 100 million customers, is raising funds to compete with rivals such as ICICI Bank Ltd. ICICI Bank increased loans by 47 percent in the three months ended Sept. 30, more than twice State Bank of India's 21 percent loan growth.

Yogesh Agarwal, State Bank of India's managing director in Mumbai, wasn't immediately available to comment.

Standard & Poor's ranks the Mumbai-based bank's long-term debt BB+, one rung below investment level. Moody's Investors Service has a Baa2 rating, the ninth-highest investment grade.

The bank has 187 billion rupees ($4.2 billion) of bonds outstanding, according to Bloomberg data. The company's Baa2- rated $100 million of floating-rate notes maturing in 2010, sold in December 2005, pay 0.6 percentage points over Libor.

India's economy will expand more than 8 percent for the fourth consecutive year, according to the Washington-based International Monetary Fund, stoking demand for credit from companies and consumers. Bank loans have increased more than 35 percent in the past two years.

source :-bloomberg

Israeli companies to invest $100 m in Indian real estate

JERUSALEM: Two Israeli companies have joined hands to invest $100 million in the booming real estate sector of India.

Israel's Property and Building Corp, a subsidiary of the country's largest holding company IDB Development Corp, and Electra Ltd have announced that they agreed on a joint venture in which both of them will hold 45 per cent stakes. The joint venture incl udes an unnamed Indian partner, which will hold a ten per cent stake.

The companies are currently examining investments in southeast India, including a 42.9-acre site for construction of 2,60,000 square metres, and a 9.9 acre site for construction of 1,200 housing units. - PTI

NIFTY INTRADAY

RETAIL BATTEL GROUND

Wal-Mart’s surprise entry into India through the franchisee route may be followed by at least two more big deals, comprising of Tesco and Carrefour, early next year. According to industry sources, while Carrefour is giving final touches to a similar agreement with the Landmark group, Tesco will also be working out something, now that its talks with Bharti have fallen through.

However, with franchising fast emerging as the favourite India entry vehicle for international retail chains, not everyone is in celebration mode. Experts feel that for most single brands having just a 51% stake, does not make good business sense.

Particularly, when the franchisee option is available, where capital investment is not required. For foreign labels like Tommy Hilfiger, US-based VF Corporation’s brands like Lee, Wrangler, Kipling, Nautica and Jansport, and others such as Tag Heuer, Louis Vuitton, Hugo Boss, Mothercare, Chanel, Gant, Guess, either don’t have a global policy to invest in their own retail chains or wouldn’t like to change the existing franchisee arrangement and go for JVs, for lack of critical mass.

Some of the prominent brands that are in talks with Indian partners include Armani, Banana Republic, Carrera, Cerruti, Valentino and Lalique. These companies have been talking to Indian companies such as Reliance, Tata-promoted Trent and DLF.

Even those brands, which could be looking at investing in India such as Gap, Zara, Ralph Lauren, Old Navy and Banana Republic, would rather wait for the sector to allow 100% FDI, because their philosophy is to sell their respective brands strictly through company-owned exclusive retail stores.

However, many players are upbeat too. Some deals have actually fructified, and the brands that have come via 51% FDI claim that they are quite satisfied with the retail scenario in India.

LVMH has already set up shop in India. Lee Cooper has forged a JV with Pantaloon Retail. Dubai-based jewellery retailers Damas, has entered India in a tie up with Gold Souk.